Human Rights Groups and the State Public Prosecutor Denounce Extermination Groups Formed by Police in Sergipe

The body of a young man, riddled with bullets and innumerable marks of torture, is found in the woods of the city of Laranjeiras, in Aracaju, the state of Sergipe. One more victim of the violence in that area.

The body was quickly identified as Laerte Santos de Andrade, a 16 year-old student, who disappeared from nearby his home after he was approached by the civil police and ordered to enter the car of the of the Secretary of Public Security of the state government. All in broad daylight. C.S., the 17 year-old girlfriend of Laerte and principal eye-witness, was with him when the police appeared and abducted him. Other people in the locality also witnessed the crime. Since impunity rules in Sergipe, the life of C.S. is in serious risk.

Unfortunately, Laerte Andade´s case is not an isolated one. Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil. Its governor, João Alves Filho (PFL), in the last year of his third mandate, resolved to reintroduce the official actions of the death squads that marked his second mandate as governor from 1990-1994.

During that time (1990-1994) a group of military police officers called "The Mission" were formed from the Riot Police. Their objective was to arrest, judge and execute supposed cattle thieves in the interior of Sergipe. In truth, "The Mission" operated with cold-blooded perversity. The group, according to denouncements of the Prosecuting Ministry, led at that time by Lieutenant José Acelmo dos Santos, broke up in January 1995, after an intense social mobilization with isolated denouncements in the press and the intervention of Amnesty International and the National Secretary of Human Rights.

After eight years out of the government, João Alves Filho was elected governor in January 2003. The first three years of his government was spent on "window-dressing works" and urban violence spread throughout Sergipe, reaching the upper class areas of the state.

Since public security was the principal campaign promise of the governor, he was highly criticized by others and recognized that he would have great difficulty in getting elected for a fourth term. This past February, the governor nominated Flamarion DÀvila as the Secretary for Public Security. D´Avila was the Public Security Secretary when "The Mission" was instituted. José Acelmo dos Santos was also reappointed to command the Military Police, the same person who earlier had commanded the Riot Police and "The Mission".

The first public statements made by D´Avila, the Public Security Secretary and Santos, the newly installed Military Police commander were identical "We will not treat outlaws like flowers. Human Rights will be prioritized for the victims". Remembering the times of "The Mission", D´Avila recognized that "clearly there were excesses by some police, but this is perfectly plausible". Santos stated "In the fulfillment of my work, I have a clear conscience and do not regret anything that I did. I defended a society that was clamoring for security".

For many, the affirmations of D´Avila and Santos sound like a green light. In a macabre coincidence, ten assassinations in which the victims were killed by gunshots by the police were registered in the following month (according to official statistics of the state government). No police officers were killed.

According to a survey by the Human Rights Commission of the Legislative Assembly of Sergipe, of 80 assassinations by firearms in the first three months of 2006 in the state, 60 have no suspected authors. The victims are poor men between the age-range of 14 to 30 years.

" Homes are being invaded, inhabitants disrespected, youth being exterminated. It is an extremely grave situation, because the violence is being perpetrated, in a majority of the cases, by those who should guarantee the security of the population", denounced Deputy Ana Lúcia, the president of the Human Rights Commission of the Legislative Assembly.

The State Public Prosecutor accompanying the actions of the Secretary of Public Security, and Deijaniro Jonas, the Justice Attorney handling the external activities of the police, have opened a series of procedures to investigate the denouncements.

Deputy Venâncio Fonseca (PP), spokesperson for the state government, guaranteed that necessary steps are being taken so that all of the cases will be investigated, and that those who are responsible will be punished.

A climate of fear exists in Matinha, a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Aracaju, Sergipe. In the early morning of March 16 of this year, dozens of military and civil police covered with hoods and strongly armed invaded the homes of the neighborhood. According to the commander of the Secretary of Security, the police were fulfilling mandates to find and apprehend drugs. Doors were bashed in and locks were broken. Men, women and children were victims of aggression. In many cases the police demanded that the home dwellers present the fiscal receipts for television and sound systems.

After hours of terror and threats, nothing was found by the police. The Security Secretary, in an official note recognized that, "The police operation was positive in spite of the fact that the police did not find any drugs or product that was robbed nor anyone involved in any criminal activity". Despite innumerous denouncements of police abuse by the neighborhood residents, officials rejected any abuse of power.

One of the worst cases in Sergipe that the Ministry of Justice is investigating involves the disappearance of two cousins, Elieu Perieira dos Santos, 17 years old and Josué dos Santos, 18 years old. In the early morning of April 16, Elieu, Josué, and C.B.S., another 18 year old, were leaving a party in Mosqueiro, Aracaju, when they were approached by military "riot" police. The police action was witnessed by almost 50 people.

The three young men, without any apparent motive, were forced to enter the police car. After driving a few miles, C.B.S. was tortured until he became unconscious. He was left in the woods, survived, and succeeded in returning home. Elieu and Josu´s were never heard from.

The State Government refuses to speak of the case in spite of charges brought by the Public Prosecutor, Human Right Commission of the State Legislative Assembly, the City Council of Aracaju and the Order of Brazilian Lawyers in Sergipe, "I don´t have any more hope to find them alive. But the police have to tell us where their bodies are. The two young men were human beings and deserve to have a decent burial", said Eliseu Pereira, a local fisherman and the father of Elieu.

About 15 days before the disappearance of the two young men in Aracaju, civil and military police had arrested three young people accused of robbing trucks and supplies from the state. This police operation occurred in Itabaiana, 35 kilometers from Aracaju. According to witnesses who testified to the Organization of Brazilian Lawyers, Marcelo Silva, Juan Correia, and Flavio Alves were in jail when they were tortured and executed by firearm. The official information from the State governor is that there was an exchange of gunfire between the victims and the police.

Five days after the execution of the three youth in Itabaiana, the police killed Cristiano Santos, a 20 year old in Aracaju. Cristiano was accused by the police of assaulting people in the region. There were no witnesses. According to the police, Cristiano died in an exchange of gunfire. He died from shots to the neck and head.

Other cases exist and continue. Jose Nascimento, a 19 year-old, was assassinated with shots in the head and his body was thrown in the words on the southern zone in Aracaju. No one knows the author of the crime.

(Source Brasil de Fato, May 10, 2006)